Mirror, Mirror on the Blog….
April 24th, 2009 by Natural
I wrote this blog post over a month ago, but I thought it would be much more fun and creative to animate it.
When you’re done watching it, I would love to know what you think about the question Michael asked: Is Social Networking Increasingly Becoming Narcissistic.
The views expressed on this program are those of the host and guest and do not accurately represent the views of ThinkingOutLoudBlog.com, even though I wrote it.
“Not the media, not The Man …”
I like the afro, jack. “That’s right, I said it.”
I also love the audience [participating. Now if you can get them to woot from the stands, you’re golden.
That was great. I’m going to have to try that! Yeah, I’ll be riding your coattails. What of it?
you didn’t hear little arsenio hall in the audience? OMG my audio technician is so fired.
no need to ride my coattails, i will send a limo for you.
cardiogirl´s last blog post..The book of questions, Volume 39
I believe that Social Networking is getting out of hand. It seems like it is a race or a popularity contest sometimes.
It seems like it is expected that we should be on the services such as myspace, facebook, and twitter.
I don’t really care to know all the minute details about my so-called online friends or followers. Maybe the real reason people post all these details is narcissism.
I think it is less about marketing and networking than it is saying “Look ate me, Look at me!”
That’s my humble opinion.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter.
i don’t need to post the details about me and believe me, i don’t, but i am sharing more now than i ever thought i would. i was sitting quietly in the corner, but over time i eased my little toes over into the spotlight. i kind of enjoy some of it.
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what a fun and creative way to share an idea. And yes I think social media is all about the Narcissist. It wouldn’t work any other way would it?
thanks. i’m on visual mode and i can hardly write my name or anything else for that matter, so i’m glad i was able to bring the two medias together and create something different.
i don’t know it just seems like, even for me, that i can’t wait to post a photo somewhere, or a blog post about what i did or what happened. i guess you’re right, it wouldn’t work any other way. i enjoy it more than i once did.
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Found my way here through Debo! I love your animation – very well done. And thank you for expressing some of the same feelings I’ve been having about social networking. I think it has it’s place but I think we are getting too close to actually “living” online. Yikes!
thanks for popping on over to say hello. glad you like the animation. i think social networking can be a useful service, i enjoy some of it, a lot, then there are times i look around and think: what are you doing and why?
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I guess it is about narcissism to an extent. I don’t think it’s the cause of “it’s all about me” though. That has been in full force since the 80’s. The US is also all about the individual and social networking may be a reflection of that.
Great job with the animation
good thinking point: the US is also all about the individual and social networking may be a reflection of that.
the animation was fun, i’m almost scared that i found it.
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definitely
are you sure?
sandy´s last blog post..Camera Critters # 55- Mr. Comedy with a heart.
HA! I’m with cardiogirl. Love the ‘fro.
Yes, social networking is way outta hand. I know a few people who starting their own business, and they’re like, I gotta get into social networking! Well, why? They don’t know what it is, how to use it, WHY they should use it — if at all. For me it’s just a fun time waster and way to promote my blog to maybe 3 more people that might not’ve visited.
Now how do I get a ‘fro like that?
JD, if I remember correctly, I suggested you grow an afro for when you fall down the stairs and hit your head on your basement floor…remember that? uh, well maybe you don’t…it would have saved you – but you said it didn’t hurt. not that you can remember. what was i talking about? oh social networking. some of it is fun, i agree. sometimes i ask myself why and then i remember it’s fun. Narcissistic, yep, then i start to wonder, why we crave the spotlight so much.
JD at I Do Things´s last blog post..I Was a 10-Year-Old Stylista so you don’t have to be
Whoa! You’re on TV! Your two left feet shoes are now part of the social networking debate. I can’t believe you went to all that trouble to create this feature. How much time did it take you to put it together?
yes, me and my two left feet. the nerve of michael mentioning my post on his show. uh ling, it was no trouble at all. anything humorous or artsy takes me about 1 hour to do, anything i write and requires thinking takes 4 days and a white russian. lol it was easy and fun. maybe this took about 2.5 hours, from learning to finish. next time, it will be less.
Wow, how did you do that? It’s amazing!
I can’t answer your question because I don’t participate in social media. I really think there’s such a thing as too much communicating.
uh, i just used the website and well the post was written, it just needed something and my sister sent me the link to the site and bam! now i want to do a little series. i wish the little people could do more “stuff”.
i agree, when the communication is verbal, i don’t need to talk, well to a few people i do, but otherwise, not. well it’s nice to see you on twitter when i see ya.
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I think our society, in general, is becoming more narcissistic, but certainly “social” networking is. Look at Twitter! I really don’t CARE if you put on 2 leftie shoes today, nor most of the other crap people tend to post these days.
If anything, I’ve found sites like FB & the like to be surprisingly anti-social & to encourage that trend in their users. Of course they’re all about me, me, me. It’s YOUR site, after all.
I left FB & am not a Twit. Even my blog gives me pause, at times.
i love twitter. at first i was like NO WAY, who cares, but now i get to purge my thoughts somewhere. it can be useful for some businesses especially …but for me, it’s just for fun. i have nothing of value to say.
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I loved it, Valerie! I agree with most of your observations, too. Sometimes people in social media connect by simply shouting at each other instead of making real conversation. Other times, they have a real, meaningful conversation.
thanks Vered. i found two or three networking sites i like where I share my it’s all about me attitude. for me, a balance of mindless chatter and meaningful conversation would be nice.
First of all. THIS WAS AWESOME. I loved the video! What a terrific job.
As far as answering the question: “Is Social Networking Increasingly Becoming Narcissistic. ” Um… I don’t really care if it is or isn’t. I think it’s fun and I have a great time on FB and reading blogs! And so what if it is Narcissistic!!
xoxoxo
what’s up girlfriend. you liked my little video, cool. i had fun with it.
LOL, i like twitter a lot, I could tweet all day just about me, but i don’t. still learning the ropes over at FB.
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Hi Valerie,
~ Steve, the crotchety old trade show guru
Awesome video. I’m still trying to find if you wrote somewhere HOW you did it. On some website, or with some software program? It’s very cool.
As to social bookmarking and social media, I’m not sure if it’s more narcissistic or more shallow, or just lots of both… but then I’m a crotchety old guy, so nobody listens to me.
what’s up steve! the website url is at the end of the movie. i think it’s xtranormal.com. how ironic, lol. it’s really easy. my social networking time is so shallow i now find myself, interesting. lol.
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Social Networking has been narcistic from the beginning. It was always about ME having the best pics, ME having the most friends, ME getting constant pokes/messeges from people. It was never about communicating with other people – we have phones for that.
i guess you are correct in some aspects. it has always been about someone attracting someone else to what they are doing, have done or plan to do.
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Drats…I’m so sorry, but if you can believe this I still use dialup Internet service, so watching a YouTube takes so much time, but from your previous comments…I bet it’s a great video!
But I will comment about the wonderful question you posed here.
Yes…TOTALLY.
There are certain aspects to Facebook that I really enjoy, but even above it being narcissistic, social networking is getting too invasive. Way too much information is being freely shared on these sites. I’m very careful about what personal information I share on FB. I used to have a Twitter account, but never really saw the point, so I deleted it.
Great post Valerie!
huh Ron, dial up? wow. well that’s okay i guess, it would certainly limit my online time. if i could, i’d go back to that, but i’ve already been to the promise land so there is no turning back.
there is a willingness to share info. w/social networking. i’m sharing more than i thought i would and i should probably stop that and put my wall back up and my mask back on.
i didn’t get twitter either, but now i like listening to the “chatter”. that’s what it is to me.
Ron´s last blog post..Two Franks
Great video! I would try to figure out how you did that, but then I would have one more activity to fill my already too busy day.
I’m with Steve. I Facebook a small amount, but the rest seems pretty shallow. I’m sometimes on Facebook checking out what my friends are up to in their narcissistic corner of the world.
thanks. it’s really easy to do. i think i like twitter more than facebook…although i have found an old friend or two via FB/MS. it’s great for finding people.
Valerie,
Narcissism, under my understanding of the word, is about being excessively self-centered.
I don’t think that sharing one’s thoughts, feelings or life through social media is narcissistic at all. Social media is all about sharing with a community, it’s about sharing with others.
At least that’s the way that I have always understood it.
when you say it andrew it sounds nice. it’s about sharing with others…not being self-centered. i like reading things about my online friends, viewing their photos. maybe sometimes it becomes overkill at some point when too much is shared. thanks for sharing your viewpoint, always appreciated.
Andrew´s last blog post..India’s Enron
You are so clever, Val (I might call you Val from now on).
I’ve tried 3 times to write something intelligent about whether I think social media is narcissisc (I can’t even spell it), but I guess I can’t because sometimes I find it fine and others I find the self-promotion is annoying – even then, I don’t find self-promotion annoying if there is a genuine purpose for it (endless sayings and quotes on Twitter leave me wondering).
hey you can call me val, that’s cool. i don’t mind a self promoting tweet once in a while, but if that’s all you’re pushing, then i don’t want to hear it. of course it goes both ways. oh well, i guess we’ll (not us) tolerate each other or unfollow. i kind of wish twitter was segregated into groups. i rather hang with the clowns.
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Oh my gosh, you did fabulous with your video, Natural.
When do we get to see the follow up video of Valerie Morrison.
With regard to social networking, granted for some people it’s all about them but all in all, I find it’s a great place to also share our finds with others and to help them promote their work, too.
It goes back to the “we get what we give” attitude.
thanks barbara. the follow up video. hmm, well that might be my exit video.
i enjoy the sharing part of social networking and knowing some things, not everything, about my blogging friends. sometimes it does feel like: look at me, look at me.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog post..Are Introverts Better Bloggers
Hi Valerie,
~ Steve, the slow trade show guru
Thanks for answering my question above. I watched the video again. Duh…
Perhaps this shows how easy it is to ignore advertising, and the challenge of getting a message across. Anyway, I’ll just claim I was distracted by Michael’s pirate shirt (with the leather laces at the top). Haven’t seen a shirt like that in a long time. Did you pick out his clothes? I know, I should go the the website and find out myself.
not a problem steve, i miss what’s right in front of me all the time. they come already dressed. you can pick out a different character that has on a different outfit. it’s cool. i’m sure you can come up with a trade show scenario.
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I loved this……I thought Lisa was going to get up off the couch and give Michael 5 across the eyes. Valerie is narcissistic and we love her!!!!
grog that would have been hysterical. too funny. i love it.
Grog´s last blog post..The Taliban-Don’t Take Your Eye Off The Ball
Gosh, you are super-duper talented, Valerie!
And narcissism as to social networking? My verdict is still out, as I’m pretty new to it all.
hey Jannie. thanks and when i play the guitar as well as you, i’ll own that compliment.
Jannie Funster´s last blog post..The CDs Have Landed!
It’s not the social networking, it’s the people. As time runs out (’cause it does for all of us) people become more and more narcissistic. Naturally, their behavior & activities are influenced by their self-centrism. Therefore, social networks, too.
hmm, never thought about the time running out thing. it’s more about the people and not social networking. SN is just the platform, yes?
Clever animation. The power of intention influences purpose in social networking. To aspire to help or serve others may be viewed as altruistic, generous and giving. Universal laws function so that karma and other kinds of energy reflect back in your life to return the energy you send out. Some people may also assume you are narcissistic when this is not the case. You only ever control how you think and feel.
Universal laws function so that karma and other kinds of energy reflect back in your life to return the energy you send out.
very good point Liara! it makes sense to me. thanks for your comment.
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LMAO Valerie – that is awesome. Are those videos difficult to make?
You do make a great point. I haven’t used Twitter in a while and I am starting to feel it has become too fake. I’m tired of adding folk who add me, only to find that a bunch of people have dropped me & everone else because they were just trying to boost their follower numbers.
To me, it’s getting to be too much about numbers, instead of people and it’s sucking the life out of it. A heap of celebrities seem to have joined and it’s getting to be more about a battle of egos than anything else.
hey cath, nope, not hard to make at all. i enjoyed it…too much. i do like twitter and have stopped using it for a while. i’m a moody tweeter. i think it’s about the ego as well, but as some have pointed out, you get what you put out there. it can be self serving or we can serve others. i have nothing of value to share.
Holy S–T, did somebody just allude that I play the guitar well?
Now I am SURE I’ve died and gone to heaven. And you know, “if there’s a rock ‘n roll heaven, you know they’ve got one hell of a band.”
Sorry ’bout the “Hell” I’ve sullied your G-rated blog now.
I’m simply incorrigible!!
lol. well you have a CD, i’ve seen you on stage, on your blog, you appear to be playing a guitar… you know the chords, you can play songs….that works for me. you play well enough, how’s that?
Jannie Funster´s last blog post..Bord On A Wire, 7 & 8
I think we are all narcissists, we want our 15 seconds of fame, dammit. If we are not talking to each other on the street or at work anymore, hell, we still need some way to communicate with our increasing circle of ‘friends’. I am not planning on joining Twitter anytime soon, I am scared of it, it somehow frightens me. I signed up, then almost immediately thought, what have I just done and have not returned to it since. I am happy to blog, I would like a few more followers for sure, but Twitter, I really don’t think I have the time for it. I thought your post on my two left feet was very funny.
hi rowe and welcome. i guess there’s sharing and then there is sharing too much. we all love to talk about ourselves, strangely, i do more now than before – maybe SN just provided the fertile ground for breeding something that was already there. dunno? thanks for sharing your comment.
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Valerie,
I loved the video! It truly is amazing what the technorats come up with these days.
As far as social networking being narcissistic, I think it depends on the motivation of the person joining the different sites, or writing the different blogs.
I’m on Facebook, but don’t really do much on it. Most of the time I only visit if I get a message that one of my friends has written on my wall or sent me a message. It’s been great finding people who I had lost contact with due to lots of moving, etc.
Twitter – while I am on it, I don’t really get what the big deal is about it.
I have three blogs, and all of them serve a different purpose for me. One is more of a personal journal/finance blog. I’ve had it so long and been part of that particular blogs community for so long, that the people there feel a little bit like a second family. I started writing it mainly to have a place to keep my thoughts about money and life, rather than rambling on about it in real life to people who may or may not want to hear about it. Having others read what I write, and relate to what I’m saying has just been icing on the cake.
My other two blogs I try to keep a little less personal, and more informational. But all three fulfill my need to write and to share. In real life there really isn’t that many people who have the time to hear me gushing about a great children’s book, or going on and on about some financial topic. But in my blogs, I can do that, and if other people are interested in it, then great! If not, well, I still am getting the chance to write about it.
thanks laneerg and welcome. a fellow finance blogger, yes! seems we have a lot in common, i will have to look up your other blogs. yes blogs are great outlets, especially for people who have many interest. i haven’t learned to play nice in the sandbox on Twitter, I talk about, well me. lol
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Just wondering how you’ve been, hon. I hope all is well.
oh lana, thanks so much for asking. i have not been feeling like myself, blame it on the sucky weather, but yesterday was a good day, so i’m here to get my feet wet again. see ya soon.
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Social Networking is just one more tool available for this growing narcissist society that evolved from the “I” culture created by publicity. As social individuals we have to remember that the world does not spin around us.
hi mr cat and welcome. no the world does not spin around us, but it can. at least it’s easier to get swept up into the notion anyway. thanks for sharing your comment. say, do i need a prescription for those drugs on your website or can i just order? hmmmmm.
Hi. I think yes, we’re narcissistic, but as Dot said, it’s been around a while.
I’m meeting people a few at a time, on Twitter and FaceBook, and by finding new bloggers via commenters on blogs I already read.
This is a poignant question for me this morning, because just yesterday I took a look at my About Page and realized just how “self” it is. I’m changing it, because my blog isn’t about me. And the About Page should reflect what it IS about… little daily pieces that make up a big life.
Interesting video — makes me want to go write a script just to play.
hi barbara, i enjoyed the train ride over to your blog via cardiogirl, the conductor of the comment train. i’m sure we have crossed paths before because i recognize some of your commenters, but now we have been formally introduced. waves hello.
i won’t even hide it but i have elbowed myself up to the front of the narcissistic line a few times and have been accused of “needing” an audience once. (i don’t need one, but if i’m in comedy mode, it does helps..being that i have already laughed at my own material). anywho it’s very easy to get caught up and i do, but i’m happy to sit in the corner with a book and look down too. thanks for stopping by. i struggle with ‘about’ pages. that’s one occasion i don’t want to talk about me. i’ll have to go read yours. i’m sure we will meet again.
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I had to come back to watch again. It’s hysterical!!!
hey grog, stop by any time. i haven’t been “out of my house” in a while, with the exception of a blog or two. time for me to get back to writing and mingling, this post is old and it’s starting to mold.
Grog´s last blog post..The Evolution Of Man
I think its narcissism to a certain extent but we are all so isolated as a couture in so many ways, I think social networking is an attempt to break though that.
Most of the folks on Twitter either work for themselves (alone) or over worked at a job where probably not much human contact is happening on a daily basis. I know I go though that being on disability and not having many human friends. (OK, I admit it!)
hi carla, i wonder if we unplugged from the computer would we be so isolated. there are people, who, because of disability may not be able to get out and interact with the public, but sometimes isolation is a choice. thanks for sharing your comment.
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For me, social networking is still good. It all depends on how you use it. I use it to connect and interact with people, make friends in short. I love to meet new and interesting people. Through social networking, I’ve met a lot already in real life. Some people though use it in a slight negative and advantageous manner. We cannot tell who’s right or not. We’ll have just to watch ourselves carefully because no matter how great social networking is, there will always be downsides to it.
i agree, it depends on how you use it. i guess it can serve self or it can serve others. i’ll do both.
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hey cutie missing you – Too much springing into spring !!??sandy
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I’ve been over and out of social networking for the past month. I have resorted to actually speaking to people over the phone and in person — something that is truly lacking these days. No longer can we talk to each other, we have to facebook. The young people cannot express a complete thought without using some sort of SMS language in their reports they hand over to their school teachers. I know this because a couple of people who teach have told me so.
A line has to be drawn and the reins need to be pulled.
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Okay. Its been OVER a month! I need an update!
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“Where you is at?” LOL:)
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sandy – hi there. just came from your blog, thanks for peeping over here at me.
urban – i’m still anti-phone, but i do talk to a few people on it. i do agree a line has to be drawn, we are sharing too much, myself included.
meleah – what’s up chick? will out and about here soon. thanks for the nudge.
debo – i’m here. thanks for stopping by, i’ll get to you real soon.
Social Networking was always narcissistic. It was never about talking to friends. It was about who can have the most friends or the best pictures or the most comments. It’s basically an e-pen!s contest.
sometimes it is about the numbers, especially when i see people beg for more followers because they need to get to a certain number…um, why? thanks for visiting and sharing.
Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have destroyed my writing. I can no longer phrase thoughts or prose longer than 140 characters.
i’m only smiling because i bet this comment is 140 characters or less. that’s funny, but not…however, sometimes i wish people would only talk to me using 140 characters or less. hi squawfox!
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Everything social is narcissic. That’s the point of social interactions.
I agree that Social networking sites are basically narcissistic. But realistically, what else can you really share, if not your own views, opinions, photos, etc. Everything else is just someone else’s stuff. Let them share their own, unless it’s really good!
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